Photo by Andrew Lightman

ELIZABETH GREATHOUSE, J.D., LL.M., the creator and director of Yoga House Studio, is a KRI certified Kundalini Yoga and Yoga Alliance E-RYT 200 registered teacher, as well as a KRI LEVEL 1 Associate Kundalini Yoga Teacher Trainer. Elizabeth took her first Hatha yoga class by her mother's side at 16, while growing up in Malaysia. While in law school in the Pacific Northwest she began to study Kundalini yoga. For nearly a decade Elizabeth lived the daily lifestyle of a yogini in a 3HO ashram in Seattle and used the spiritual name Gurumukh Kaur, given to her by Yogi Bhajan. She studied directly with Yogi Bhajan in New Mexico during summers at Women’s Camp, in addition to numerous other yoga and meditation classes and White Tantric Yoga courses that he gave around the country. She took to heart Yogi Bhajan’s simple and clear message that through the practice of yoga and meditation each of us can attain our birthright: to be happy and healthy and to understand our own grace in this lifetime.

With the boom in yoga over the last few years Elizabeth discovered Vinyasa and Ashtanga and completed the 200 hour course taught by Damien Bastier and David Ingalls, owner of the Ashtanga Yoga Center. Elizabeth's practice now includes both Kundalini Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga. She believes the combination of the powerful energy and breath work of Kundalini Yoga, along with a vinyasa-based system of hatha yoga gives a perfect balance of strength and flexibility to our bodies, minds and spirits.

A nomad throughout her life, living on different continents and on different coasts, Elizabeth is happy to say she is home now at Yoga House Studio in Washington DC. She lives with her husband and dog Peter Isaac, in Washington, DC.

Please join her and the wonderful teachers that have gathered at Yoga House to stretch your body and stretch your mind.

(In addition to her KRI certification (www.kundalini-yoga.us, www.3HO.org) Elizabeth studies Sat Nam Rasayan with Guru Dev Singh, was certified in the conscious breathing techniques developed by Sondra Ray and Fredrick Lehrman (Loving Relationship Training), studied Sacred Archetypes with Caroline Myss at Omega, Ashtanga yoga with John Meredith of Onlyoga in Atlanta (www.onlyoga.com) and Self-Identity through Ho’oponopono with Morna Simeone and Stan Haleakala Hew Len (www.hooponopono.org)

More recently, Elizabeth has studied Ashtanga with Pattabis Jois's son, Manju Jois, David Swenson and completed the 6 month Yoga Alliance recognized 200 hour level Teacher Training at the Ashtanga Yoga Center DC (www.ashtangayogadc.com) offered by David Ingalls and Damien DeBastiier in 2005-6.

In addition to 8 years of direct study with Yogi Bhajan, Elizabeth has studied with Gurmukh Kaur of Golden Bridge and most of the senior Kundalini Yoga instructors. Elizabeth is a member of the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association, is recognized by Yoga Alliance as a certifed E-RYT 200 teacher and holds the title Level 1 Associate Teacher Trainer with the Kundalini Research Institute.

SUSIE RYAN

Susie uses a dynamic Vinyasa flow class, allowing you to use your breath as a guide to cultivate inner and outer strength, fluidity and flexibility in both body and mind.

Susie started taking yoga in the 1970s to heal injuries sustained through running and windsurfing. She embraces Yoga as the most holistic system for the entire body and is committed to introducing yoga to students of all ages. Simply put, asana practice isn't about using the body to get into a pose, but rather using the pose, in conjunction with the breath, to get into the body.

 She was certified as a teacher with Yogi Bhekja, and has attended teacher  workshops and training with many of the major Western Yoga Masters. She has also completed Teacher Training Part 1 to teach people who have

cancer, or who are cancer survivors. Susie continues her practice and study with Shiva Rea's Prana Vinyasa Flow, Fluid Power, and Trance Dance Teacher Training programs.

ALMA ORTMAN

Alma is a KRI certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher. She connected with the practice instantly and found herself drawn to the lingering peace and contentment that continued to follow her life since her first yoga class. She has a great passion to share the joy and transformative effects of yoga and meditation on one's body, mind and wellbeing. Alma enjoys offering a fun, energetic space where students can build core strength and inner peace, cultivate body and breath awareness, and find inspiration within to apply to their entire lives.

LESHONE HOSANG

LeShone is a KRI certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher. A dancer since the age of 6 years, a yogi since 1999, LeShone is a special education public school teacher to girls and boys aged 10 through 13 in the District of Columbia. Come share LeShone's connection to yoga as part of her path toward healing.

ATIENO FISHER

Atieno teaches vigorous, physical flow classes focused on mindfulness through movement and breath, with special attention to the energy of the heart and to using the practice to further your intentions.
In her daily work at Usoni.com, Atieno provides strengths-based coaching and experiential learning to organizations and individuals under stress, fostering sustainable resilience and developing peer knowledge-sharing systems.
She spends her free time by the Greenbrier River in Lewisburg, West Virginia, where she helped construct a straw-bale house that is available as a venue for retreats.

TRSHA NAKONO

Trisha began practicing yoga while living in Japan eight years ago. Her yoga practice deepened her first years of teaching in a DC Public School with stress management. In 2005, Trisha studied at the Nosara Yoga Institute with Don and Amba Stapleton in Costa Rica and recently returned to be an assistant instructor in their teachers¢ training. She has studied with Shiva Rea, Saul David Ray, the Ashtanga Yoga system, and Integrated Movement Therapy for children and is also a holistic health counselor. Combining her passion of yoga, education, children and nutrition, Trisha is now the Wellness Coordinator at a public charter school. Through breath, movement and meditation, she hopes to inspire her students to their own inquiry of yoga and find a deeper understanding of themselves.

EFFIE KAPSALIS
Effie entered the world of yoga 14 years ago when she was a member of a gym, dropped in on a yoga class, and discovered the bliss of focusing on her breath and body for an entire hour. Aside from being physically challenging and invigorating, she finds that yoga teaches awareness and compassion that carries over into her daily life. She practiced Iyengar yoga for 8 years and a mix of Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga for the last 4 years. She also studies Vipassana meditation. She is completing her 200-hour level Yoga Alliance certification in October. By day Effie is a web producer for the Smithsonian Photography Initiative

DELLA HOFFMAN
Della came home to her first yoga class seven years ago while living in Central Oregon. Since then she has taken classes in the Kundalini, Ashtanga, Anusara, and Integral yoga traditions and is currently in the process of completing a 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training program in Sri Yoga. Sri Yoga focuses on devotion and inner communion with the divine. Della invites her students to explore their own inner stillness, uniting the body, mind and spirit through asana, pranayama and meditation.

ELIZABETH LLOYD
Elizabeth Lloyd has been a life long yoga practitioner. Yoga has always been a safe haven against the stresses of life for her. To her yoga is like a warm embrace from a loved one after a tough time, never judgmental, always embracing and forgiving. Elizabeth recently became a Hatha yoga instructor. Her classes emphasize the connectivity of the breath to movement. She also infuses meditation and mantras into her practice to elevate the body, the breath and the spirit. Off the mat she is studying Kundalini Yoga, and tries to live her life the yogic way - with grace and gratitude.

ALLISON GUSTAVSON

Allison's romance with yoga had continued for nearly ten years before she was introduced to Kundalini Yoga. As an elementary and middle-school teacher, she was immediately inspired not only to pursue her KRI teaching certification, but also bring this powerful yoga into the daily lives of her students. Each day, as children arrived at school with jubilant reports of "I taught yoga to my parents last night!" and "I was finally able to do Eagle Pose!" her commitment as a practitioner broadened into a commitment to making yoga an accessible, beneficial, and joyful experience for yogis of all ages and levels. She is delighted and honored to be a part of the Yoga House community.